NEW DELHI: This is normally the best time of the year for buying fruits and vegetables — the supply is plentiful and prices low. But it's quite a different story this year. A combination of bad crop, export pressure and other factors has seen veggie prices shoot up alarmingly in the past two weeks.If the steep hike in onion prices is making Delhiites teary-eyed, the exorbitant rates of fruits like apples and grapes have added to the monthly household budget.
Onions have touched Rs 24-26 per kg, way above the normal winter price. Even tomatoes, generally cheaper this time of the year, are selling at Rs 18-20/kg.
Even potatoes and peas have become dearer. "Earlier it was just onion, but now even potatoes and tomatoes are upsetting our budget. If the hike continues, eating out would be a better deal," said Anita Chopra, a resident of Kalkaji in south Delhi.Curiously, the difference between retail and wholesale prices seem to have widened. While travelling from the wholesale market to your doorstep, prices of most vegetables double — in some cases, the rates are three times higher. For instance, the wholesale price for onion is Rs 7-15/kg; but by the time it reaches the consumer, the price touches Rs 25 a kilo. "The supply of onions has been low this year and even the wholesale prices are high compared to last year, when it was less than Rs 5/kg. The supply has been further affected by the high export demand," said Parveen Dhaneja, a leading onion merchant at Azadpur Mandi.